Charles Leclerc

[PlatinumZealot]

Hamilton fans, have we been sleeping on Charles Leclerc?

Today I was thinking back on Monza 2019.
Did he really do that?!

Did Charles really run Lewis off the road in a high pressure situation and then keep his total composure all the way to the end of the race??

Hmm..

This is not to be taken lightly.

This Charles guy. This is the one I fear.

Max we know Max. We know Lando. Russel is hard to say, he is very cocky. I have my eyes on him. But Charles Leclerc... This guy is the monster waiting to emerge.

[ENGINE TUNER]

Already emerged, was strong on tracks he had experience on(including F2), was mostly right behind Vettel on the ones he didn't have experience in. Dominant in Bahrain, slight mistake in Baku. Strong in Spa, Monza. Robbed by Ferrari in Singapore, backstabbed and sabotaged by Vettel in Russia, poor strategy in Mexico. LEC could have easily won 5 or 6 races last year with as good as he was driving.

Over the course of 2019 he was probably the 2nd best driver after Hamilton having made less mistakes than VER.

He is the real deal

[FrukostScones]

If Max is a spoiled & protected kid that thinks he can get away with it.... this is the real deal, squared.

[Jolle]

Looks like there are now several posts of "look at why this driver is no good"

I think (top) teams have a better view on drivers then a few keyboard worriers that like to diss the opponent drivers.

Leclerc & Verstappen are the read deal, without question. Both of them have early in their careers secured a number one spot at a top three team, something no other driver has had without a world championship under his belt. They both display a new way of racing, so.... buckle up, this is going to be a wild ride!

[Phil]

I’ve always thought Leclerc to be the real deal, way back when he dominated F2. I am glad and happy to see he has been given this chance at Ferrari and has/is delievering.

I used to think he is also a nice guy, but was less impressed with some of his moves on track and also in regards to the battle with Vettel, but i guess to be a champion, you need that certain level of killer instinct and ruthlesness. But one of the reason why i sort of backed Vettel at Ferrari last year.

I cant wait to see how he develops further and how much of a threat he can be. Behind Lewis, probably one of the drivers i’d be rooting for in the future.

[Andres125sx]

Agree with Jolle, Max and Charles are the real deal, but I also agree with others when they say Max makes mistakes, and he didn´t have the pressure Charles had with a WC as a teammate.

I don´t know who will perform better when they´re title contenders, but Lecrerc already proved he can perform even with a teammate as strong as Vettel, and even with his team supporting his teammate, without going too crazy. That is a very important factor when fighting for a title, wich Max didn´t prove yet

[Big Tea]

If Max is a spoiled & protected kid that thinks he can get away with it.... this is the real deal, squared.

Possibly, but if he was not a very good driver he would not be where he is. No matter how shielded everyone would wake up at some time, So RBR have little to lose persevering with him.

I am not his biggest fan, but everyone must (surly??) admit he has something. I like racers, and he is without doubt a racer, even if you add "spoiled & protected" or any other adjective. You do not have to like him to appreciate him as a racer. I never liked Senna but I have to admit he was a phenomenal racer, but without being a fan.

[Ringleheim]

If I was a fan of Hamilton or Mercedes (I'm not ) I would fear car designers much more than any particular driver in this era of F1.

Having said that, there are always 2, 3, or 4 drivers in the top echelon in F1 during any era.

LeClerc is certainly one of those now, with Hamilton, Max, and maybe 1 or 2 others.

[NathanOlder]

I’ve always thought Leclerc to be the real deal, way back when he dominated F2. I am glad and happy to see he has been given this chance at Ferrari and has/is delievering.

I used to think he is also a nice guy, but was less impressed with some of his moves on track and also in regards to the battle with Vettel, but i guess to be a champion, you need that certain level of killer instinct and ruthlesness. But one of the reason why i sort of backed Vettel at Ferrari last year.

I cant wait to see how he develops further and how much of a threat he can be. Behind Lewis, probably one of the drivers i’d be rooting for in the future.

Remember though Phil, Charles only changed to a more aggressive style after he himself said something along the lines of "Now I know we can race like that, I will too" after Max barged him off track in Austria.

[dans79]

If I was a fan of Hamilton or Mercedes (I'm not ) I would fear car designers much more than any particular driver in this era of F1.

More like you should fear what kind of stupidity the FIA and Liberty might come up with, because they want to shake up the pecking order to appease fans of other teams.

[ENGINE TUNER]

I used to think he is also a nice guy, but was less impressed with some of his moves on track and also in regards to the battle with Vettel, but i guess to be a champion, you need that certain level of killer instinct and ruthlesness. But one of the reason why i sort of backed Vettel at Ferrari last year.

What moves?

[raymondu999]

Can we not start driver threads... we know these things just degrade to slagging matches

[Andres125sx]

I’ve always thought Leclerc to be the real deal, way back when he dominated F2. I am glad and happy to see he has been given this chance at Ferrari and has/is delievering.

I used to think he is also a nice guy, but was less impressed with some of his moves on track and also in regards to the battle with Vettel, but i guess to be a champion, you need that certain level of killer instinct and ruthlesness. But one of the reason why i sort of backed Vettel at Ferrari last year.

I cant wait to see how he develops further and how much of a threat he can be. Behind Lewis, probably one of the drivers i’d be rooting for in the future.

Remember though Phil, Charles only changed to a more aggressive style after he himself said something along the lines of "Now I know we can race like that, I will too" after Max barged him off track in Austria.

Agree, and IMHO that makes him an even better driver. Same as designers looking for loopholes, drivers must do all they can to beat the competition, so if something is allowed or simply not specifically banned, they must take advantage of it.

Lecrerc doing to Max what Max previously did to Charles did remind to Alonso and his adaptability to moving goalposts wich are common in F1.

OTOH Max explore those limits himself wich is not bad either, even when I disagree with FIA overtolerance with him, Max was doing his job

[raymondu999]

[Dee]

Already emerged, was strong on tracks he had experience on(including F2), was mostly right behind Vettel on the ones he didn't have experience in. Dominant in Bahrain, slight mistake in Baku. Strong in Spa, Monza. Robbed by Ferrari in Singapore, backstabbed and sabotaged by Vettel in Russia, poor strategy in Mexico. LEC could have easily won 5 or 6 races last year with as good as he was driving.

Over the course of 2019 he was probably the 2nd best driver after Hamilton having made less mistakes than VER.

He is the real deal

Don't even start. Leclerc had way more mistakes last season and backstabbed and sabotaged Vettel in Monza Q3. The race directly after Vettel had held back Hamilton so he could win.

Leclerc crashed into two cars, crashed out of two races, crashed out of qualifying, crashed with a teammate, got black and white flagged for unportsmanlike driving and got a penalty for dangerous behaviour.

If we are going to compare Leclerc to Hamilton, Leclerc is nowhere near Lewis in tyre management, race pace or wet weather driving. He cannot win without having the fastest car and even at that only won 2/7 from pole last year.

He held his head in Monza but he was on the better tyre, had 0.5 on the straight and had the stewards in his back pocket.

Leclerc lost his head many times last year when he wasn't at the front. Monaco was the prime example. And I noticed all year that when he fell back or was down the grid he gave up the fight. So many times I was looking at the live timing expecting him to get the gap down and instead it stayed put.

Leclerc is championship material, same as Verstappen but he is not going to win against Lewis anytime soom